Second police recruitment could refine meaning of triumph

My heart goes out to the 1,200 young men and women who have had their police recruitment offers quashed.

All the successful candidates interviewed for a TV report said they would not participate in the new recruitment drive as they had no confidence that the process would be above board.

Those who lost, on the other hand, were delighted about the fresh opportunity to try their luck, no doubt because they have nothing to lose.

If one had bribed their way to succeed in the first recruitment, it is understandable they’d feel deflated and defeated; how else could one succeed if even after paying hefty sums of money no positive outcome was possible

But perhaps that’s where many go wrong. The cops who received their money can still pull the strings and ensure their preferred candidates triumph, only that even the police do not know who will be watching.

What will be hardly discussed is the amount of public funds that will be wasted organising the new recruitment, literally throwing good money after bad.

And in the absence of the initial winners in the fresh contest, the quality of competition will be somewhat eroded. Or maybe not; victory is not about winning but persevering.